This invention relates to the cleaning and polishing of capsules and more particularly to apparatus for and a method of cleaning and polishing filled capsules.
When capsules are filled with finely divided materials, e.g., pharmaceuticals in the form of powder, the operation is inherently such that the capsules may become covered with dust, and this must be removed before the capsules are packaged for sale. Heretofore, the capsules have been cleaned and polished in one of three ways: (1) by hand polishing on large sheets of cheesecloth; (2) by tumbling them in a drum containing salt; or (3) in apparatus wherein the capsules drop onto a vibrating sieve, being fed by vibration over the sieve and thence between a pair of moving lambswool belts. The first of these is labor intensive, and the cleaning and polishing may not be uniform. The second accomplishes good cleaning and polishing, but requires large quantities of salt, and is thereby relatively expensive. The third has not been completely satisfactory for removing powder from the capsules, particularly from the crevice around the body of the capsule at the end of the cap of the capsule and from the ends of the capsule, and the use of the lambswool belts is relatively expensive.